Legal Interpretations

FlightPush Summary

The Wichita Flight Standards office asked whether a Part 135 operator could rent its aircraft to non-pilot customers and supply its own pilots as Part 91 flights. The FAA said no: by arranging the pilots, drafting and negotiating the pilot contract, and providing a complete transportation package, the operator kept operational control, so the flights require a Part 135 certificate and qualified pilots.

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A law firm asked whether an aircraft owner or operator may hire another party, such as a manufacturer, to make a replacement part under 14 CFR 21.303(b)(2). The FAA said yes, but the owner remains responsible for conformity to type design, parts are one-for-one only, and installation must still be done by certificated airmen under 14 CFR part 43.

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Nike, Inc. asked whether a time-sharing agreement with its CEO could cover personal flights for him and public officials. The FAA said no, because 14 CFR 91.501(b)(6) does not allow leasing a company aircraft to an individual, but the flights would appear permissible under 14 CFR 91.501(b)(4) if nothing is charged.

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A 14 CFR part 135 pilot may not do any work assigned by the certificate holder, such as repair station work, fueling, sales calls, or training or 14 CFR part 91 flights, during a required rest period. Work for another company is a qualified yes, but that commercial flying counts against flight time limits, and flying without rest can be careless or reckless operation.

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Nordstrom asked about two uses of its company aircraft. The FAA said it may carry a vendor on a flight incidental to company business and charge a pro rata share of the operating cost under 14 CFR 91.501(b)(5). It may not lease the aircraft and crew to an employee for personal use under the time-sharing provision.

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The Washington State Department of Natural Resources asked how federal rules apply to state aircraft fighting fires. The FAA said qualifying public aircraft are exempt from some rules, such as 14 CFR part 133 certification, but not part 133 operating and airworthiness rules, and operations near people are governed by 14 CFR 91.119, with helicopters allowed lower if they create no hazard.

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Elliott Beechcraft asked how much passenger oxygen a pressurized Part 135 aircraft must carry under 14 CFR 135.157(b). Above 25,000 feet MSL, a 10-minute supply is the minimum. Below that, the specific supply rules apply when the aircraft must stay above 10,000 feet MSL after a pressurization failure, but the operator remains responsible for enough oxygen for passenger safety and comfort during the descent.

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Evergreen International Airlines asked whether hotel telephone or pager standby counts as duty under 14 CFR 121.471(d). The FAA said no, because the rule limits duty aloft: it is violated only if a crewmember flies in air transportation seven consecutive days without 24 hours off, so 7 days of standby alone is allowed, though definitive answers need precise facts.

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Nordstrom asked whether two proposed flights fit 14 CFR part 91 subpart F. The FAA said a non-employee traveling on company business may be charged up to a pro rata share of costs under 14 CFR 91.501(b)(5), but questioned whether an employee time-sharing agreement fits 14 CFR 91.501(b)(6), referred that question to headquarters, and suggested not conducting it meanwhile.

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A flight instructor asked whether a third-class medical suffices for paid instruction. The FAA said an instructor needs no medical certificate when not acting as pilot in command or a required crewmember, but when instructing for compensation in either role the instructor exercises commercial pilot privileges and, under 14 CFR 61.3(c), must hold a second-class medical certificate.

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Northwest Airlines asked whether the domestic flight time and rest rules apply to pilots in ground school. The FAA said 14 CFR part 121, subpart Q does not apply during ground and simulator training unless the training is treated as a rest period, and 14 CFR 121.471(d) does not require a 24-hour duty-free period solely because a pilot spent six consecutive days in ground school.

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EXECUFLIGHT Aero Services asked how much passenger oxygen a pressurized Part 135 aircraft must carry. The FAA said the 14 CFR 135.157(b)(2)(i) and (ii) passenger supplies apply when the flight must continue above 10,000 feet MSL after a pressurization failure, but the 10-minute supply required above 25,000 feet MSL is only a minimum and the carrier must carry enough oxygen for passengers during the descent.

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Flying a helicopter in the shaded area of the height-velocity curve is not automatically a violation; the FAA treats it as one factor in judging whether an operation was careless or reckless under 14 CFR 91.13 or below safe altitudes under 14 CFR 91.119. The FAA recognizes external load operations cannot always avoid the shaded area.

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The Air Line Pilots Association asked whether Midway Airlines violated 14 CFR 121.471(d) when a delayed sixth-day trip ended 7 minutes into the crew's seventh day. The FAA said no, because the delay was beyond the carrier's control, as long as the crew received the full 24 hours of rest before further duty aloft; carriers must still schedule realistically.

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The Air Line Pilots Association asked whether rest under 14 CFR 121.481(b) is based on hours scheduled or hours actually flown. The FAA said it is based on hours actually flown, so a flight scheduled for 5 hours that runs one hour long requires at least 12 hours of rest.

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An individual asked who may grant part 91 waivers under 14 CFR 91.903. The FAA said each Regional Air Traffic Division Manager holds that delegated authority (except for aerial demonstrations and air races) and may re-delegate it, and that the delegation need not be published in the Federal Register, though the FAA Orders are open to public inspection.

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A requester asked how the FAA delegated authority to grant part 91 waivers under 14 CFR 91.903. The FAA said FAA Order 1100.5C delegates it to Regional Air Traffic Division Managers, except for aerial demonstrations and air races, and that the delegation need not be published in the Federal Register; waivers are still requested on the appropriate form at any FAA office under 14 CFR 91.903(b).

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American Air Ambulance asked which rules govern air ambulance return flights carrying medical technicians. Rather than answer directly, the FAA enclosed a June 7, 1990, interpretation it believed fully answered the question and invited follow-up questions. The enclosure's text is not included.

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The Silicon Valley Express asked why 14 CFR 135.63 requires duplicate load manifests. The FAA explained that one copy flies with the aircraft and one stays on the ground, so weight and balance information relevant to a crash is not lost if the only copy is destroyed.

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A helicopter-rated Army aviator asked whether helicopter time could count toward an airplane instrument rating and commercial airplane certificate. The FAA said crediting it toward the instrument rating is unnecessary, since the helicopter instrument rating already meets the non-aircraft-specific requirements of 14 CFR 61.65(e), leaving the airplane instruction hours. Military helicopter cross-country time does count toward 14 CFR 61.129(b)(3)(ii).

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A safety pilot in a high-performance airplane does not need a high-performance endorsement. Under 14 CFR 91.109(b)(1), the safety pilot needs only a private pilot certificate with category and class ratings appropriate to the aircraft, here airplane single-engine land. Flight Standards encourages safety pilots to be familiar and current in the aircraft, and the FAA was reviewing whether to require the endorsement.

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A certificated flight instructor giving flight instruction for compensation does not need a second-class medical certificate. A third-class medical certificate is acceptable, even when the instructor is paid and acts as pilot in command on the instruction flight.

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The Allied Pilots Association asked whether a pilot could be rescheduled en route to a longer segment when holding delays would push flight time past the 8-hour limit. The FAA said this does not violate 14 CFR 121.471(a)(4) if the change results from weather or other circumstances beyond the carrier's control, under 14 CFR 121.471(g), though schedules must remain realistic.

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A medical certificate applicant objected to the FAA's National Driver Register authorization form. The FAA explained that Congress authorized it to obtain NDR data and that 14 CFR 67.3 requires consent; refusing delays and ultimately leads to denial of the application. Applicants cannot substitute their own driving records, and the FAA verifies NDR data with the state before taking any action.

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An Ohio administrative license suspension for refusing a chemical test after a driving-under-the-influence arrest is a motor vehicle action under 14 CFR 61.15(c)(2) and must be reported to the FAA, even without a conviction for that offense. The FAA had earlier advised that the client's reckless operation conviction need not be reported under 14 CFR 61.15(c)(1).

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The National Air Transportation Association asked which conflicting interpretation governs part 135 flights in the grace month when a crewmember misses the required check. The FAA pointed to its long-standing November 10, 1971 interpretation, written for part 121 but equally applicable to part 135, and said its legal offices are the authorized issuers of legal interpretations.

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Continental Airlines asked whether its airworthiness certificates could hang on the cockpit side of the cockpit door, visible only to the flight crew. The FAA said yes: 14 CFR 91.27(b) requires the certificate to be legible to passengers or crew, not both, so this placement complies.

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The Air Line Pilots Association asked whether a pilot released at 2200 and due back at 0600 receives legal rest. The FAA said a required 9-hour rest may be reduced to 8 hours under 14 CFR 121.471(c), but a compensatory rest of at least 10 hours must begin within 24 hours after the reduced rest began, even if flights are delayed, and cannot be reduced.

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A requester asked how a company can hire a pilot to fly its people and equipment under 14 CFR part 91. If the pilot rents the airplane and is paid, the pilot provides both airplane and pilot and needs a 14 CFR part 135 certificate; the company must procure, schedule, and pay for the airplane itself.

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An aviation consultant asked whether crews scheduled within the 8-hour limit of 14 CFR 121.471(a)(4) may finish their trips after weather or a bomb-threat diversion pushed actual flight time past 8 hours. The FAA said yes under 14 CFR 121.471(g), provided the schedule was realistic; if actual flight times are consistently higher, the schedule should be adjusted.

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Kilpatrick & Cody asked whether a partnership could operate leased aircraft under the company carriage provision now in 14 CFR 91.501(b)(5). The FAA said no: the provision is strictly construed to apply only to corporate parent-subsidiary operations and does not apply to partnerships or individuals. The FAA assumed the request meant paragraph (b)(5), since (b)(3) covers aircraft demonstrations.

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A requester asked whether a corporation may rent an aircraft that an FBO uses for Part 135 and fly it under Part 91. The FAA said yes if the pilot is the corporation's employee or an independent contractor unrelated to the aircraft's lessor, but leasing both airplane and pilot from the same source is a Part 135 operation. It declined to say who the lessor is.

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A requester asked how to read the word "past" in 14 CFR 61.57(e). The FAA confirmed that it means the same as the word "preceding" in 14 CFR 61.57(a).

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Aviation Records, Inc. asked whether Part 135 operators may deviate from the rules under 14 CFR 135.19 to help fight wildfires. The FAA gave no opinion without specific facts, explaining that a bona fide emergency must exist and that the FSDO decides after the fact whether the emergency was valid and the deviation necessary.

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Ontario Flight Service asked what expenses a private pilot may share with passengers. The FAA said only expenses directly attributable to the flight, such as fuel, oil, tie-down, landing or customs fees, and non-routine maintenance, and that the pilot may share the airplane's rental cost equally; the fuel-and-oil-plus-100% formula in 14 CFR 91.181(d) does not apply.

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In 1990 the FAA told the Soaring Society of America that a private pilot towing gliders carries no passengers or property, but that building flight time without paying the aircraft's operating costs counts as compensation. After the rule moved to 14 CFR 61.113, which lets private pilots tow gliders or unpowered ultralight vehicles under 14 CFR 61.69, the FAA rescinded the letter as of July 28, 2026.

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The National EMS Pilots Association asked whether EMS flights without a patient fall under part 91 or part 135. The FAA said a hospital flying only its own employees could use part 91, though such flights assigned by the certificate holder count toward part 135 limits, while a contract operator carrying medical staff as passengers must use part 135 if it receives compensation or benefit.

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Military UH-1 helicopter time logged while holding an FAA commercial helicopter certificate may be credited toward an instrument rating under 14 CFR 61.65(e) and toward commercial airplane cross-country experience, assuming the flights otherwise met the regulations. Whether the helicopter simulator is an acceptable instrument ground trainer is a question for the local Flight Standards District Office.

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The Department of Commerce asked whether aircraft operators may accept reimbursement for carrying its employees without an operating certificate. The FAA said a company operating under 14 CFR part 91, subpart D may charge up to its cost of owning, operating, and maintaining the airplane when carrying guests is within the scope of and incidental to its business, but individual operators may not be reimbursed.

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AVEMCO Insurance Company asked about private pilots flying passengers through the Pilots & Passengers Association. The FAA agreed that 14 CFR 61.118 prohibits participation: pilots would not genuinely share expenses, and because passengers would be solicited from the public, each pilot would probably be engaged in common carriage subject to 14 CFR part 135.

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Pilots & Passengers Association matched passengers with pilots who would fly them in exchange for sharing expenses. The FAA said each pilot accepting such payments flies for compensation or hire, even under the 14 CFR 61.118(b) expense-sharing rule, and is probably engaged in common carriage, making the pilot an air carrier subject to 14 CFR part 135.

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AOPA's Washington counsel asked the FAA to review a column on private pilot expense sharing. The FAA said 14 CFR 61.118(b) does not allow time-building trips to places the pilot has no business, advertising may amount to holding out, paying less than a pro rata share suggests no real sharing, and only direct operating costs, not insurance or maintenance, may be shared.

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A requester asked whether a private pilot with a free balloon rating may accept balloon-event incentives under 14 CFR 61.118. The FAA said it depends on whether each is compensation: a paid entry fee conditioned on flying, free propane, and mileage are compensation, while unconditional lodging and meals, prize money, required banners, and carrying non-paying riders are not.

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Trans-Share Corporation asked the FAA to evaluate Share-A-Flite, a ride-referral service it described as cost sharing under 14 CFR 61.118(b). The FAA warned that the service's scale and advertising suggest pilots are holding out to the public for compensation or hire, so flights could violate 14 CFR 61.118 and raise Civil Aeronautics Board common carriage issues.

FlightPush Summary

A pilot who was a community college student asked whether advertising for passengers to share the costs of local time-building flights was allowed. The FAA said share-the-cost flights must be a bona fide joint venture for a common purpose. Flying to build time is an operation for gain beyond the transportation itself, so it counts as an operation for compensation or hire.